DCFS seeks 125 frontline hires, paralegals and vehicle funding as foster homes and services expand

BATON ROUGE, La. — Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) leadership told the House Appropriations Committee on April 8 that the agency had made measurable progress on foster placement availability but faces continued shortages in frontline staff and funding for key services.

Judge Brandon Matlock, DCFS secretary, told the committee that foster‑home capacity rose from 749 to 913 over the most recent reporting year and that, at the time of the hearing, there were no children living in office space or hotels for lack of placement.

“That's a big deal,” Matlock said, noting agency efforts to expand foster and congregate placements and to stand up support programs for foster families.

Nut graf: DCFS officials asked the committee to fund targeted increases to stabilize child‑welfare operations: 125 new full‑time frontline TO positions to handle caseloads, 18 paralegals to relieve legal paperwork burdens on caseworkers and attorneys, replacement vehicles to support home‑visits and funds to update foster‑care rate setting. Committee members also pressed officials on SNAP/TANF fraud recovery and vacancy and turnover trends affecting child welfare staff.

Key budget and program items presented or requested by DCFS leadership and staff: - Fiscal 2026 request snapshot: DCFS presented a $1.0 billion total FY26 recommendation across divisions, with state general and federal funding braided across programs (Child Welfare and Family Support prominent in the presentation). The department reported 3,753 authorized positions and 295 vacancies as of Dec. 30. - Frontline staffing: Matlock said DCFS needs 125 new TOs to bolster child‑welfare caseworkers and immediate supervisors so new hires can be supervised; he estimated the state‑general fund cost at $10,000,000 (with federal match noted in testimony). Matlock said 20 of the new TOs would be frontline child‑welfare workers and five were for congregate care implementation. - Legal support: DCFS asked for 18 paralegal positions to free caseworkers and attorneys from routine document prep and to permit lawyers to provide training for field staff. Matlock described the ask as intended to let frontline workers focus on cases rather than paperwork. - Vehicles and rate setting: The department requested 45 replacement vehicles for Child Welfare (citing high mileage and maintenance costs) and about $744,000 state dollars and roughly $1.1 million federal dollars for rate‑setting work and adjustments to foster/congregate placements and program rates that have not been updated since the 1990s. - Domestic violence shelters: Matlock told the committee DCFS welcomed the governor’s commitment to fund domestic violence shelters and would support an additional $7 million in state money if needed; he said a total of $10 million could be justified depending on federal actions and partner contributions. - Audits and findings: Matlock acknowledged audit findings the department received in the prior year and said internal efforts had caught issues including a Monroe area fuel‑card anomaly that was reported to auditors and law enforcement. He stressed corrective actions and said time‑statement (timecard) findings were being aggressively addressed with leadership outreach and changes. - Fraud and SNAP recovery: Assistant Secretary Sammy Guillory summarized fraud‑recovery work in family support programs. The department reported about $2.0 million collected in SNAP recovery actions over the prior year and a total claim value around $6.2 million; a statutory dedication (fraud detection fund) balance shown in the presentation was $724,294. Guillory said investigators and recovery staff (roughly 40 employees split between investigations and recoveries) pursue data matches and tip lines to find unreported income or household composition changes.

Representative Hughes and others questioned how quickly DCFS can fill vacancies and how hiring‑freeze exemptions would be sought. Matlock said the department will request exemptions for child‑welfare vacancies judged essential and is preparing individualized justification for the administration.

Ending: The committee pressed DCFS for more granular numbers and pledged to consider the agency’s staffing asks as the FY26 appropriation process continues. Matlock said the department would provide follow‑up material, including detailed vacancy lists and documentation of program outcomes tied to requested positions.

Speakers quoted or on the record: Judge Brandon Matlock (Secretary, DCFS); Rebecca Hook (Assistant Secretary for Child Welfare); Assistant Secretary Sammy Guillory; Rep. Hughes (questioning).